Tackling measles

Medicial conditions in Pakistan are not promising and should be tackled by the new government on a war footing.

Pakistan may face an international travel ban due to its failure to control a measles outbreak. In less than four years, there have already been 25,401 reported cases of measles and at least 146 children have lost their lives due to a disease that could easily have been prevented. Children under the age of five die every year mainly from preventable diseases. As per officials of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan is one of the top five countries in the world having the highest number of unvaccinated children. It is a sad reflection on Pakistan’s healthcare system, which can really do with an overhaul. The threat of an international travel ban should serve as an eye-opener for the authorities. As it is, the country may face international isolation because Pakistan is not yet polio-free.

Now that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is all set to form a new government, it must adopt a good healthcare policy, address issues at hand, like the measles outbreak and polio vaccination among others, before venturing into anything else. Medical conditions in Pakistan are not promising. We lack in both quality of health care and number of specialised hospitals of international standards. Local healthcare facilities are not equipped to provide good medical care to patients. More budget must be allocated to the health sector; the local healthcare facilities, be they public or private, should be up to international standards and assurances must be given that no malpractices would take place, which can only be done if strict laws pertaining to malpractices are implemented. Corruption is very common in the health sector, including sale of public-sector hospitals’ medicines at drug stores. Unless this pilferage is not stopped, it is not possible to achieve the desired goals vis-a-vis public health in Pakistan. The new government must tackle this situation on a war footing. We cannot afford to lose more children due to the failings of our healthcare system.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2013.